We were lucky to catch up with Tracy Livecchi recently and have shared our conversation below.
Tracy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
Almost everything I have done in my life has come with risks. From moving across the country and away from my family home to exercsing on a regular basis. That is because I was born with a very complex congenital heart defect. Throughout my life, I have had more cardiac surgeries and procedures than I can count. I’ve had a pacemaker since I was 12 years old, and am now completely dependent on it for every one of my heart beats. My doctors didn’t ever expect me to live as long as I have, and I was warned along the way about the many risks connected to things most people take for granted. Some examples of the risks I have decided to take include exercising regularly, becoming pregnant with my 2 daughters and travelling to Egypt and other locations not near immediate medical care. I always take a responsible approach to educate myself and weigh the risks to the benefits. However, my guiding light has been my resolve to work towards reaching my full potential and live my life without fear.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a Clinical worker and have been in the field for over 20 years. I have a psychotherapy practice and a special interest in working with individuals with serious, chronic illness. I am a strong advocate for increased awareness of the connection between heart disease and mental health, and the importance of providing holistic and psychologically informed medical care. I am the co-author of the first book of its kind called, “Healing hearts and minds: A holistic guide to coping with congenital heart disease”, have written a number of articles on the topic and have spoken publically about this at different events around the country. I want individuals to know that they don’t have to be alone, and that it is possible not only to survive with heart disease but to thrive.
How’d you meet your business partner?
My co-author and writing partner is a psychologist and also was born with a congenital heart condition. She lives in Scotland. I was preparing to give a talk on body image and congenital heart disease (CHD) a few years back and while researching I came across an amazing art exhibit called Scarred for Life. It displayed photographs of individuals with congenital heart conditions showing their scars, with the hope of changing the perception that scars should be hidden away. I emailed her and asked if I could share some of her images in my talk and she agreed. We began meeting occasionally to discus our work, and one day we realized that we were both working on writing a book on the same topic. We compared outlines and they were almost identical! Without ever meeting in person we decided to work together and the result of that is our book, and a lifelong friend, or “heart sister”. We are now working together on a curriculum for mental health professionals to treat medically related trauma.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
I feel grateful that I am able to combine my lived experience with a professional that I love, and I believe that shows in my work. I work hard to foster trust, not only with my clients but also with my colleagues and the community as a whole. I am honest, extremely ethical and would never take on a case that I didn’t feel 100% confident that I can help. If I believe that a case is out of the scope of my practice, I work hard to try to help them locate a therapist with the skills needed. That isn’t easy in today’s world. We have a shortage of affordable, seasoned therapists. I schedule regular clinical consultation to get additional perspectives from trusted colleagues, and I am a lifelong learner. I go by the motto “you don’t know what you don’t know”. I always try to follow the advice that I give to my clients-self care is a must. I believe that competent mental health care shouldn’t only be for the wealthy, and to that end I offer a sliding scale fee if needed. 
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tracylivecchi.com/
- Instagram: @tracylivecchi
- Facebook: Tracy Livecchi, LCSW
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-kustwan-livecchi-40b672b2/
- Twitter: @tracylivecchi
Image Credits
Sophia Livecchi for the portrait crediti